4 Arunachal govt employees arrested with leopard skin, bones

Mangalore Today News Network

Guwahati, May 17, 2017: Four employees of the Arunachal Pradesh government have been arrested in Assam and recovered a leopard skin and bones from their possession, forest department officials said on Wednesday.

Forest officials said the accused, posted with Arunachal Pradesh health department, were arrested from the Dafalagarh tea garden in Biswanath district on Tuesday evening.

“The accused had contacted a buyer and had planned to sell the skin and nearly 5 kilos of bones for Rs 3 lakh. Two motorbikes, which they were using, have also been seized,” a forest official told journalists.

Preliminary investigation suggests the accused may be involved in poaching as well and the recovered skin and bones could be from a leopard killed inside Kaziranga National Park in Assam.

Last November, forest officials had recovered skin of a Royal Bengal tiger poisoned to death inside Manas National Park in Assam following the arrest of a former National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) militant.

Courtesy: Hindustantimes